


So Just Close Your Eyes

by esmereldagrace



Series: 'Train? What train?' [4]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Hand Jobs, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Life, Mentions of Cancer, Mentions of Panic Attacks, Sexual Content, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 11:05:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4744010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esmereldagrace/pseuds/esmereldagrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Luke? Hey, would you please--"</p>
<p>Luke snapped his head up and raised his eyebrows at Reid, looking around the room in shock before pointing to himself. "What? Are you talking to me? Really?"</p>
<p>Reid put a hand to his face and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "Luke, please don't."</p>
<p>"The great Dr. Oliver has finally laid his eyes on me and actually talked to me. I should be honoured. Maybe I should throw a party with some cake and confetti."</p>
<p>"Luke," Reid said, voice pained as he put his bag on the couch. "Please stop."</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Just Close Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic has been in the works for a loooooong couple of months and I'm just so glad it's finished. It's been on my mind for a long time but yeah, it feels so freakin' good to be done guys. There were moments that I hated it so much and wasn't sure if it was making sense, but I had the awesome Vallie pull me back from the brink and inspire me to finish it, so thank you! ♥
> 
> Any mistakes you find are mine and mine alone, apologies in advance.
> 
> The title of the fic comes from the most gorgeous song of the same name, ['Close Your Eyes'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPv4urVno8M/), by Rhodes. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! Kudos and/or comments are very welcome if deserved. ♥

 

"Fuck."

Luke winced in anticipation, eyes scrunched shut.

He knew that the glass that had slipped out of his hands would make such a mess on their wooden floor, but he hoped the worst hadn't happened. However, the glass seemed tough, not having smashed into a million tiny pieces as he'd expected when he'd opened his eyes.

There was something to be said for small mercies.  

Picking the glass back up with a weary sigh, he rinsed it out and filled the glass with water, drinking the whole thing in one go as he tried to push past the simmering anger bubbling under his skin.

It was past midnight and Reid still wasn't home.

There had been a text sent earlier from Reid that evening letting Luke know that he would be home late, and that had been sent over six hours ago. Reid hadn't even clarified a time or much else.

This kind of behaviour had been going on between them over the past couple of months, why was Luke to expect anything different? Luke couldn't even remember the last time Reid had come home on time. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spent more than a day with Reid, _alone_.

These days time for themselves seemed to be slipping away from him.

They'd never been so distant, not for this long anyway. It had been months since things had been good.

Something just wasn't clicking between them anymore. And with this unintentional distance came arguments that almost erupted out of nothing. Small spats and harsh words said when they were both tired and annoyed at something other than each other, or when they'd forgotten commitments. There were late nights where Luke would fall asleep waiting for his husband to find him gone the next day without a note, a message or much else. When what Luke wanted more than anything was to have Reid home with him, or even just _with him_ , he was nowhere to be found. So engrossed in his work that time for his family seemed to have been put on the back burner.

So yeah, Luke was angry and had a right to be. He had a really, really good reason for feeling the way he did today though, that was for sure.

But he was tired of it.

And he was tired of waiting.

Rubbing sleepily at his eyes, Luke plunged the kitchen into darkness and made his way back to the front room. It was a mess from earlier as Freddie had thought it would be hilarious to tip his toy box over and then leave each toy in a different place, an odd game of hide and seek for himself. Except the seeking part was for everyone else but Freddie.

Luke couldn't chide him for it, especially when he was rewarded with Freddie's adorable toothy grin when Luke had accepted Freddie's favourite toy, his ugly rabbit plushie. He'd wordlessly handed the plushie to Luke, and it only proved to him how much his son trusted him.

But once Freddie was finally in bed and fast asleep, Luke was too exhausted to clean up after him and had sat down to watch whatever movie was playing till it finished. Peggy, their dog and new addition to their family, had sensed his tension and worry and had laid herself over his lap, giving him all the comfort he needed.

What was the point of going to bed when he was alone anyway?

Although, there was no longer an excuse to _not_ clean up, and so Luke got to it. He found most of what Freddie had hidden, since he'd kept an eye on him the whole time, but he had no idea when Freddie had had time to stuff his toy car into the plant pot by their front window. Maybe Luke hadn't been paying as much attention to him as he thought, laughing a little to himself as he dug out car and dusted away the soil.

Peggy helped him too, somehow knowing exactly how to help, and picked up Freddie's favourite blanket from when he'd thrown it around, and put it on the couch for him. Luke thanked her with a scratch to her head and let her bring him some more toys Freddie had hidden, a slower game of fetch for her. They gathered all the toys and dropped them on the couch as Luke sorted the bigger toys from the smaller ones before placing them into the toy box neatly by their couch.

It was then, when much of the job was done, that Luke heard the sound of the door creaking open. The anger from earlier that had been numbed by the task at hand, came rushing back and Luke couldn't even look at Reid as he came in. Door locked and bolt slid into place, Luke still didn't say a word or make acknowledgement of Reid's presence. He took Freddie's blanket off of the couch and started to fold it up as neat as he could, still ignoring his husband.

"Luke? Hey, would you please--"

Luke snapped his head up and raised his eyebrows at Reid, looking around the room in shock before pointing to himself. "What? Are you talking to me? Really?"

Reid put a hand to his face and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "Luke, please don't."

"The great Dr. Oliver has finally laid his eyes on me and actually _talked_ to me. I should be honoured. Maybe I should throw a party with some cake and confetti."

"Luke," Reid said, voice pained as he put his bag on the couch. "Please stop."

Luke tightened his grip on Freddie's blanket. "Stop, what? Stop ignoring the fact that you haven't been home when you said you would be or ignore the fact that you've forgotten that you have a family at home?"

"I'm sorry--"

Luke threw Freddie's neatly folded blanket onto the couch with an angry huff as he got on with stowing away the rest of Freddie's toys, breathing hard. Peggy, who had gone to say 'hi' to Reid scrambled into her bed by the fireplace and watched them with sad eyes.

"Yeah, Reid--you always are. It's always the 'sorry' and the 'this won't happen again', but it always happens again and you always miss something important. And then all I'm left with are your apologies."

Stood opposite Luke with the couch between them, Reid raised his arms in the air, before dropping them and fisting his hands. "Then what the hell do you want from me, Luke? What more can I do?"

"Be here!" Luke said loudly, digging his fingers into the couch and abandoning the task at hand. He had tried to keep his voice low, but he could feel his blood simmering close to the surface like a dormant volcano. He was finding it hard to stay calm.

"Don't leave me alone to deal with your absences, Reid. Maybe it would be great if you could turn up on time for dinner at my Mom's and try not to piss someone off and leave me to deal with the fall out. Be there when, for once in my life, I have an event to attend that's actually important to my career, so I don't have to answer to people and try to explain why my husband isn't there to celebrate my success with me. All I ask is that you make it to the photo shoot I booked for our family photo which I postponed for the fourth time today because you forgot _again_."

Breathing hard after his rant, Luke watched as Reid composed himself. He could tell Reid was getting just as angry but he honestly didn't give a fuck. Luke was angry, too. Whatever. It was justified on his end anyway, and it had been brewing for a long time.

Reid pinched at the bridge of his nose, voice dangerously low. "Luke, I'm not the only one who's been busy. You know my job, you know--"

Luke's voice rose like his fury. Who cared about staying calm now?

"Yup, you and your job, that's what it comes down to, right? You save lives, you're a hero and a genius neurosurgeon--I get it. But sometimes I need my hero at home and with me because, just in case you don't remember, you do have a family."

Putting a hand to his heart and willing his voice not to break, Luke swallowed hard around the lump in his throat but spoke firmly. "We have a son who needs you, Reid. You're never around anymore and that little boy sleeping up there misses you."

Looking a little contrite, Reid nodded sharply. "I know that."

Luke shook his head. "No, Reid--I don't think you do. Do you know that some nights he cries himself to sleep because he hasn't seen your face? Do you know how heartbreaking it is for me to see him like that? All he wants is his Papa, and _you're not here_."

Reid narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Do you think I don't want to be home with you two? That's all I want, Luke. But you know about that case, you know it was, and is, important."

"Something is always more important to you, Reid. Not us."

This time it was Reid who lost his composure, taking a step towards him, eyes a little glassy and lips downturned at the corners. "Hey, don't say that, you know that's not true."

But Luke didn't care. He'd reached the end of his tether and his mind wasn't letting him believe anything Reid was saying. However the fight had left Luke now, and he sighed shakily, wiping at his wet cheeks, not realising he'd been crying at all. They stared at each other with the couch between them, feeling like the both of them were on a different planet. So far, and so distant...it was suffocating him.

"I don't even know anything anymore. We talked about having another kid last week and you told me you weren't so sure anymore and changed the subject, when only a couple of months ago you were up for it. What changed, Reid? Did you realise that none of this was worth it? That I'm not worth all the hassle?"

Reid scrubbed a hand over his face, shaking his head, a scoff leaving his lips. "Jesus, just stop talking. Just shut up. Do you even know what you're saying right now? I would never think that about you."

"Do you think that I've been imagining this distance between us for the past couple of months, Reid?" Luke asked instead. The gulf between them was bigger than ever and he could feel his heart ache horribly when Reid didn't reply, looking just as confused and hurt as him.

Lips turned inward, Luke shrugged, looking over Reid's shoulder and then down to the floor. "See, you've noticed it, too...and sometimes I--I wonder if you even want any of this, or if you're looking for a way out," he said, voice devoid of anger but instead full of pain.

His eyes met Reid's shocked ones, his heart breaking when he saw the same pain reflected in Reid's eyes, his mouth having fallen open in incredulity. But in the next moment he looked angry, so fucking angry and Luke realised in a heartbeat that he'd messed up. He felt icy cold to the core.

He really had fucked up and he didn't know how he was going to fix this.

"Wow," Reid breathed, face now devoid of emotion, mouth a thin, hard line. "That's some leap you made there, Luke. That's great--it's great to know how much you trust me. But you know what, _fuck you_. Fuck you, Luke."

"Reid, no--please, I'm--" Luke started to say, his eyes blurring with tears. But before he could apologise, Reid had grabbed his keys and he was out of the door, slamming it behind him. The slam of the door felt like a slap to his face, and the tears rolled down his cheeks freely, unbidden, as he stood there frozen on the spot not knowing what he could do to make this better.

It wasn't until he heard Freddie's cries and felt Peggy licking soothingly at his fingers with a whine, that Luke managed to finally move and go to check on his son, but not before giving Peggy a reassuring cuddle. He wondered if he could ever make this right, whether Reid would give him a chance to apologise.

But it didn't seem likely, not for a while yet...and he was right.

That argument was the last conversation they'd had for a week. Well, it wasn't as if they did talk at all, because they did, only if it was about Freddie or just small talk about other minor day to day things. Never about what they'd argued about, not about how to find a way to fix things.

They avoided each other during mealtimes at home. And it was easy for them to avoid each other at night, since Reid had taken it upon himself to sleep in the guest bedroom. Being alone in their room, and in their bed, meant that Luke slept fitfully through the night, which in turn made him feel miserable and irritable throughout the day. Reid left in the mornings for the hospital, as he normally did, but these days, without a word of goodbye. It felt like Freddie was the only one that was keeping them together in the same house.

If he wasn't there, Luke was sure Reid would've left the house already.

Luke's mind wouldn't stop replaying what he'd done and said and with the both of them being as stubborn as each other, making things better this time round was going to be hard. Luke wasn't sure how he could apologise when Reid was freezing him out.

But more important than anything else in this world was their son. He needed both his fathers to get their act together and be the fathers he deserved.

 

***

 

"Luke? Sweetheart--hey, Luke!"

Luke looked up from where he'd been twisting his wedding ring around his finger, deep in thought, and snapped his head up to meet her concerned eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, Hannah--"

"Yeah babe, you spaced out. It's okay though. I just don't want your food to get cold," she said, with a wink, placing some glasses on the table. "The scrambled eggs and the warm bread won't eat themselves though."

It had been a while since Luke had hung out with Hannah outside of work, so when she'd invited them to spend the day with them and also stay the night in Chicago, Luke snapped up the opportunity to get away from their home that didn't feel like his happy place anymore.

He'd stiltedly asked Reid if he wanted to come, too, but a firm no had been his disappointing answer. Luke had really thought this could've been a way to start to patch things up, but obviously he'd thought wrong. So Luke had packed his and Freddie's bag, along with some things for Peggy and left Reid to do whatever the hell he wanted to do. It had been equal parts relieving, and sad, to leave him behind, but Luke had needed to get away after being cooped up in the house for so long.

Sat outside in their sun warm garden, Luke watched Freddie running around with James, the both them way too energetic for the early hour. Gianna, Hannah's ten month old, and Peggy were rolling around on the blanket that was laid out on the grass as Peggy played with her gently. He smiled at the sight, so happy to see that James was doing better than the last time he'd seen him and filled two glasses with freshly squeezed orange juice, handing Hannah one of her own.

Hannah tied her brown curls out of the way into a messy bun before sitting down. "Thanks sweetie."

"Don't you wanna call James over to eat?" Luke asked, as he piled some eggs onto his plate along with some avocado.

"Naa, let him tire himself out--the more he does, the more he'll eat. He's lost way too much weight and I need to fatten him up again, even if it's just fruit and veg and none of the fatty things I want to feed him. I think that's the half Italian in me. My nonna would be proud."

Luke laughed. "I get that, my grandmother is the same. Although I'm sure she just likes to fatten people up, even though she doesn't have a drop of Italian blood in her."

Hannah grabbed a slice of homemade bread and spread some butter on it. "That's grandmothers for you, good food means good health. And after what James has been through, just to see him eat something without wanting to throw up these days makes my heart happy."

After James had been diagnosed with leukemia, and had gone through the subsequent chemotherapy treatments, Luke knew firsthand how hard these past couple of months had been for them both. With Hannah's parents living in Italy and other close family members spread across the country and other continents, she didn't have many people to lean on except Luke, and her one and only sister who lived in the city.

There were nights, mostly on the days when James had had his chemo, when Luke would get teary phone calls from Hannah who couldn't sleep after a panic attack after having finally put James to bed. He would talk all night, for as long she needed him, and made sure that she was back in bed before he put the phone down. And on the nights Hannah's sister couldn't make it, Luke would drive over and take care of Gianna for them, not wanting Hannah to worry about their daughter when her husband was going through the most testing time of his life.

Luke leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. "I know, I can see it on your face. What's the doctor saying?"

"There's still a couple more months of chemo and meds, but she said he's doing much better. And I can see it on James' face and in his eyes and in the way he talks, so I'm going to stay positive--I have to."

Luke smiled wide, looking out at James who was with Freddie and Gianna now, having them both in fits of laughter with his funny faces. "You do, as do all of us. James has an amazing doctor and you by his side, he's going to be fine."

"I know," Hannah said with a wink, her hazel eyes glowing in the morning sunlight, ruffling a hand through Luke's impossible bed hair. She gasped dramatically when she realised Luke was missing one vital thing. "Babe, you didn't take any of my crispy bacon, take some--throw it in on the bread with the avocado and eggs. It'll taste amazing, I promise you."

There was no way he could deny Hannah that, and did as she said, handing her the plate of bacon as she did the same.

"I wish Reid could've made it today, then I could've thanked him in person _again_ for recommending Priya as James' doctor. She's been amazing."

Luke felt his hunger disappear at little at the mention of Reid, and he threw Hannah a quick but tight smile. "Yeah, he was just busy with work, you know? Maybe he can make it next time," he said, before drinking the orange juice so it gave him the excuse to not say anything more.

"Oh," Hannah chewed on a piece of bacon, narrowing her eyes dubiously his way, "so, everything's okay between you and Reid?"

Luke avoided her gaze and ate more of his breakfast instead. "Yeah it is, why would you think otherwise?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Luke? Normally when you stay over, Reid calls you at least every hour--"

Luke frowned. "Not every hour--"

Hannah waved a dismissive hand, rolling her eyes. "Well, almost every hour then, or you're texting each other like crazy, and sometimes I have to take your phone away from you so I can have you to myself. And all of yesterday and last night? Not one phone call, and you kept looking at your phone with a sad face."

She lay her hand over Luke's and squeezed it, "What's going on? You look like you haven't slept for like a month."

Luke sighed, rubbing at his eyes and shrugged with a rueful smile. "Feels like I haven't slept in about a year, Han."

"Oh honey, what happened? Did you guys have a fight?"

He'd managed to avoid talking about it all of yesterday, even though he'd seen Hannah and James both look at him with concerned eyes throughout the day; especially when he'd turned up without Reid. But there was no way he could hide it now, not from his best friend.

"Yeah," Luke breathed. "A pretty big one--we've not talked in like a week and god, I'm so scared that he hates me. I said some awful things to him and I don't know how I'm going to fix it."

Hannah shook her head. "Reid would never hate you, Luke. He loves you too much. Nothing is unfixable here."

Luke had lost his appetite for the moment, and put his glass of juice down. "We've never gone this long without talking before, Han. He refuses to even look at me now, let alone trying to figure out a way to resolve this. "

"What did you fight about?"

Luke huffed a pained laugh. "About how he's never at home and that work is more important to him than we are. It's so stupid, and it's a fight we've had before a million times, but this time it was...so _different_. I was just so mad at him."

Hannah looked like she understood and shrugged. "The smallest things can build and build and those things then becomes that fight you never thought you'd have, or ever wanted to have. It's bound to happen when you're married, sweetie."

Luke nodded and looked down at his wedding ring, urging himself not to twist it around his finger, a nervous habit he'd picked up over the past week.

"I'd dated and married Reid knowing he had a demanding job, Hannah. And I didn't expect anything from him that he couldn't give. He missed an anniversary or two and I dealt with it, even my birthday one time, and that was okay. Reid has an important job, he saves lives and he's amazing at it. But now that we have a son, I feel like I can't let him get away with this stuff anymore. He was missing things that were important to both of us _and_ Freddie, and I just snapped."

"Reid didn't take it too well?"

"No, I mean--he kept apologising, but I told him that wasn't enough. And then I--"

Luke paused as he remembered the last thing he'd said, about Reid wanting to get out of what they had, of leaving the home they'd built together because he was done with Luke.

"Then you what?"

Luke looked away, feeling utterly sad. "I said that maybe he didn't want this marriage or this life anymore and that he wanted to find a way out."

Hannah winced a little, eyes sad. "Oh, Luke--you know Reid would never want that. Not ever."

"I know, that's why I feel so awful--I tried to apologise but he left without a word and, we haven't talked since. This is the longest we've gone without actually _talking_ to each other in years and I'm so scared I've lost him. He isn't just my husband--he's my best friend, and I miss him."

Hannah tightened her grip on Luke's hand, smoothing her thumb over the back of it. "Believe me when I say this, but you haven't lost him. This is just a bump in your marriage that you need to get over so that you can carry on living happily ever after. Everything will be okay once you talk it out."

Luke bit his lip, not sure whether it was that easy. "You think so?"

"I know so, and hey--I know James and I look like the perfect couple, but, we dated for six years before we tied the knot and those six years weren't without their problems. About two years into our relationship we even separated for six months."

"You're kidding me. What happened?" Luke immediately grimaced, regretting his question and wished he had thought before he'd said anything. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business."

"No babe, it's okay." Hannah laughed as she filled her fork with some scrambled eggs and chewed on them. "It was a while ago but," she swallowed her food and glanced at James who  caught her gaze and threw her a wink, making her smile wide, "his dickbag of an ex-boyfriend came back to town and was trying to get him back. James, being the ass he was, thought he'd spare me the worry and didn't tell me anything about him. And then of course, I found out, but a little too late because he'd already made a move on James and I caught them kissing."

Luke's mouth fell open. "Oh crap."

Hannah's eyes widened ruefully and she nodded. "Yup, exactly. And wait, I should say the kiss was totally one sided and I happened to walk in at the wrong time because James wasn't into it whatsoever. But we had an argument about it, a huge one. I was pissed at him for not telling me about his ex being a manipulative douche, and he was pissed that I wouldn't understand why he didn't tell me. And then we decided to separate because we thought we couldn't trust each other but obviously, that didn't stick."

Luke blew out a breath, eyebrows raised in shock. "Six months is a long time, how did you guys get through it?"

Hannah sighed sadly, scratching lightly at her cheek. "It was so, so hard. We were miserable without each other and were both too stubborn to admit it. But there was this moment where I saw him at a mutual friend's party, and he looked so beautiful but so sad, and that's when I realised how stupid the both of us had been, how much I missed him and how stupid this separation had been. All we needed to do was remember how we felt about each other and just talk to each other. Somehow we both kinda just looked at each other and knew that the fight was over."

She then laughed, cheeks flushing with colour, her lips forming a smug smile. "And then we talked things out for like ten minutes before falling into bed together and that was seriously the best sex we have _ever_ had, definitely in the top five of all time."

Luke made a face, a laugh slipping past his lips. "Oh wow, thank you for that."

"You're welcome, and hey, don't mock make-up sex. It's probably the best kind of sex out there," Hannah told him with a wink before snorting out a laugh and turning serious. "Anyway, the moral of this story was...be honest with each other always, and talk about everything that bothers you. Even though Reid's been neglecting you guys because of work, you haven't exactly made it clear to him in the right ways so he could nip that behaviour in the bud. If you'd brought up those concerns, maybe Reid could've caught a clue quicker."

"It's not all his fault though, " Luke admitted, knowing that the blame definitely went both ways. "Ever since my Mom and Natalie had that big fight, I've been preoccupied with making sure they were doing okay, and god, you know how wonderful Reid was when Nat stayed with us for almost a month."

And that had been true. Luke had been distracted with work, and then with Peggy to get her settled into their home, also Freddie catching a severe cold in between hadn't been great for them either. Maybe they had taken on a little too much over the past couple of months and the strain had only snapped the rubber band that was their relationship.

"I do know," Hannah told him, "and I also know that James and I haven't helped either."

Luke shook his head vehemently, taking her hand in his, because no way was she taking any responsibility for his and Reid's problems. "Hannah, no--don't blame yourself for any of this. It's not anyone's fault but mine and Reid's. You're right, we've not been honest with each other for a while and we've let other things get in the way of us. I just wish I knew how to bring it up because when Reid has his walls up, it's hard to get through to him."

"Babe, I wish I knew, too. But if there's one thing that I know for sure, it's that he loves you more than anything. He's just hurting, as are you. It'll be okay."

Luke gave her a grateful smile before pressing a quick kiss to her hand, feeling a ton of love for this friend of his. "Thank you for listening."

Hannah took her hand back, laughing, and pushed the fruit bowl towards Luke. "Don't be an idiot, that's what best friends are for, and eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

"Yum, this all looks amazing. I am starving!" James said from above them, holding a giggling kid under each arm.

"I was hoping you'd say that, sweetie," Hannah said with a grin and patted the chair next to her. "Come and eat, and tell me how amazing my cooking is. It's what husband's are supposed to do. I need all the compliments I can get since you've not told me how beautiful I am for atleast two hours."

James rolled his eyes dramatically Luke's way, making him chuckle, and handed him Freddie, who snuggled straight into Luke's arms with a happy giggle and squealing out a gleeful 'Daddy!'. Luke pressed a kiss to his curls and a couple more to his cheek before settling Freddie on his lap more comfortably so that he could sit against his chest. James sat down on Hannah's other side, putting Gianna on his own lap before leaning in to quickly kiss his wife.

"Hey baby, wait--" Luke managed to stop Freddie from grabbing at his plate for the food and toppling it to the floor. "You hungry, mister?"

Freddie nodded fervently and so Luke grabbed a piece of buttered bread and gave it to Freddie who started munching on it without a beat. Peggy had eaten her breakfast a while back and was busy chasing butterflies now that she had no babies to entertain.

"He really does have Reid's appetite, huh?" James pointed out with a laugh, letting Hannah make up his breakfast plate for him.

Luke nodded with a fond grin, hugging Freddie tight as he fed him some of his eggs before eating some himself. "He does. The both of them are going to eat me out of house and home in no time."

"Well, before they do," Hannah interjected with a laugh of her own, "I think you and Reid need some time away for just yourselves so you can get yourselves back on track. Go on holiday without Freddie--get to know each other again as yourselves, as Luke and Reid. What do you think, James?"

James agreed throwing Luke an understanding smile and handed a fussy Gianna over to Hannah who immediately quietened once Hannah gave her a strawberry to eat. "Sounds good to me, sometimes having some time away refreshes the mind and the soul, you know?"

Luke liked the idea a lot, and it was something he'd been thinking about for a while. They'd only had the chance to go on one holiday after Freddie had been born, and that was one where they'd taken Freddie along with them. But now that their son was a little older, maybe it was time to get that well needed time alone.

"I promise it'll make all the difference," Hannah urged. "And you can trust me with Freddie, I'll take care of him here whilst you guys are gone."

"The both of us can," James said with a wink. "We love having him around, and so does Gigi. Isn't that right, tiger?" James made a funny face which had Freddie in fits of giggles, and not wanting to feel left out, Gianna started giggling, too.

There was no need for Luke to say anything more, because he knew that both his friends knew just how thankful he was for them.

A reassuring smile and a quick squeeze to his shoulder from Hannah had Luke's heart feeling a lot lighter than it had in the past week. He just hoped that the constant ache in his heart would lift as soon as possible, before things got any worse.

He needed his best friend back. He needed his Reid back.

 

***

 

They'd finally left Hannah and James' later that evening, the both of them insisting they stay for a little longer so that they could go out into the city for some late lunch. It wasn't as if Reid would be home, and so Luke was happy to go along with their plans. Freddie and Peggy were tuckered out by their hectic day and slept the whole drive back to Oakdale, the both of them snoring loudly in the backseat.

By the time they got home, Luke had a horrible pounding headache, and felt terrible knowing that he was going to have wake Freddie up for dinner before putting him to bed. Once Luke was parked up, he opened the door to carefully extract Freddie from his car seat. Peggy was quick to bound out of the car and run towards the front door, waiting patiently to be let in. Luke knew there was no point grabbing their bags yet when he had a now weepy baby in his arms, and resigned to bring them in later.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Luke said softly to a crying, red cheeked and sleep warm Freddie. "I'm gonna make you something yummy to eat and then I'll put you straight to bed. I promise."

"Daddy, nooo," he whined, burying his face further into Luke's neck.

"I know, I know--I'm sorry." Luke smoothed a hand over his curls and kissed the top of his head as he made his way to the front door hoping that his headache didn't get any worse. Opening it was a hard task with Freddie in his arms, but for some reason the door seemed to be unlocked making his job much easier. Maybe Reid had forgotten to lock it in his rush to get to work, as he normally did.

Finally inside and slipping his shoes off, Luke rattled through food in his mind that he knew he had in the fridge so that he could quickly whip something up and hadn't even realised he wasn't quite alone.

"Hey."

Luke almost jumped out of his skin, and turned to find Reid sat on the couch in his t-shirt and sweats, his glasses perched on his nose and the tiniest of smiles on his lips. Peggy had found his way to him already, sitting on his lap, licking at his chin and yipping happily to say her 'hello'.

"Umm, hey," Luke didn't know quite how he felt. Reid's unexpected smile unnerving him so much he couldn't quite meet his eyes. "I--uh, I thought you'd be at work."

Reid shrugged and scratched idly at his collarbone, and stroked a hand over Peggy with the other. "I finished early so thought I'd come home. I made some dinner--."

"Oh--," But Freddie stopped him from saying anything more as he was twisting furiously to get out of his arms and screeched out a loud and happy, "Papa!"

Huffing a laugh at Freddie's complete change in mood and behaviour, he gently dropped him to the floor with a kiss to his cheek so he could run over and clamber straight onto grinning Reid's lap. Peggy was gracious enough to move aside as Reid gave Freddie his craved for cuddles and kisses.

"Hey, my little monster--I missed you so much," Reid said as he threw Freddie into the air and kissed his cheek before tickling him, his giggles echoing around the room. Luke felt his heart flutter fondly at the scene but let the both of them have their reunion since it was pretty obvious Reid needed some alone time with his son.

Never with him these days, obviously.

Shucking his jacket and hanging it up, Luke squeezed his eyes shut to ease the banging in his head and thought about what to do next. He was in the process of slipping his shoes back on wanting to get the bags now that Freddie was occupied, when he heard Reid call his name.

"Luke, I-uh...I made some dinner for Freddie. Is it okay if I get him fed?"

Luke felt his heart sink, and he hoped his face didn't betray the gut wrenching sadness he could feel. Why was Reid even asking? Freddie was his son, too. Had things gotten so bad between them that Reid had to ask for Luke's permission to take care of their son?

Luke willed his tears to stay away. "Of course you can, you don't need to ask," he told him, hoping his voice didn't sound like he was losing the will to live.

Reid tightened his jaw and nodded, not saying another word, which had Luke feeling irrationally angry. He avoided Reid's eyes and grabbed the car keys out of his jacket pocket. "I'm going to get our bags and then go for a shower. If you could put him to bed, that'd be great. There's no need for a bath for him tonight either, so--thank you," he told him, leaving before he could hear Reid's answer.

Slamming the door pretty loudly behind him, Luke took a couple of breaths to get his anger in control. If their son wasn't enough to bridge the gap between them, what else could he do?

Hope was slipping through his fingers by the second.

 

***

 

A shower hadn't managed to relieve his headache.

The water had been hot enough to make his skin an angry red but it still hadn't helped to ease the tension in his head and his shoulders. He'd peeked into Freddie's room to see Reid reading their son a bedtime story and thought it best to leave them to it whilst he went on the hunt for some pills.

There was only so much pain he could take today.

Food was a foregone conclusion, his appetite was shot to hell, and so after downing some pills and giving Peggy a cuddle as she headed to her own little bed for the night, he made his way outside into the garden. It was warm enough to sit outside without more than one layer these days, and so Luke sat himself down on the wicker sofa they had out on the deck. The cool night air caressed his skin gently and he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. He closed his eyes against the light wind and relished in the quiet, no matter how sad it was.

Grabbing a pillow from next to him, he wrapped his arms around it and pressed his face into it, hoping that his headache would really and truly just disappear. He breathed evenly and deeply, rocking a little in place and willing his dark thoughts to bury themselves into some deep corner of his brain. What Luke wanted more than anything was for this horrible weight on his shoulders and on his heart to disappear. He didn't know quite how long he could live with it now.

"Luke? Hey, Luke--are you okay?"

Luke didn't realise he was being spoken to till he felt a hand run through his damp hair and a warm body sit close to his. He had no idea how long he'd been sat out here either. Luke tried to not jolt at the touch, but couldn't quite avoid it. Jerking his head up from the pillow and blinking to get his vision clearer, he saw Reid's concerned face closer to his than it had been for a while.

Not quite able to get his mouth to work, Luke just nodded instead, shying away from Reid's touch a little. But Reid didn't take his hand away and instead ducked his head to meet his eyes.

"You were never a good liar," Reid told him wryly.

"One of the many of things I wish I could change about me," Luke croaked out, looking out onto the garden and moving the pillow he'd been holding to his other side, hands squeezing at his own knees. "Anyway, it's just a headache--nothing worse than that."

The answer came a few seconds later, Reid's voice sounding a little hurt but worried all the same. "There's nothing I would change about you."

Luke met Reid's gaze defiantly and huffed a laugh. "Now who's the liar?"

Reid's hand that had been idly stroking through Luke's hair froze, his face shuttering. "You don't seriously believe that."

Tears pricked at the corners of Luke's eyes involuntarily. "It's hard for me to believe anything these days," he said, voice almost a whisper. This was the first time they'd actually had a conversation in a week and Luke didn't know quite how to feel.

Reid didn't say a word and just shook his head minutely, his blue eyes swimming with a million different emotions that Luke couldn't quite parse. Reid's hand then slipped down to hold Luke's face, thumb smoothing over the apple of his cheek and this time Luke couldn't help it. He leaned into Reid's touch, closing his eyes, revelling in the fact that Reid was so close after so long. The touch of his skin on his had him spellbound, addicted.

And suddenly, he felt tired--so very tired.

"Can we please just end this?"

Luke could feel Reid stiffen next to him, thinking the worst, and so he was quick to open his eyes and made sure Reid's touch didn't leave him, lifting a hand to wrap it around Reid's wrist.

"No, you ass--I don't mean this marriage. I mean this fight, this stupid argument. I miss you so much, Reid."

Luke watched as Reid let out a relieved breath, his lips curling upwards a little before giving Luke a long look, and Luke knew right then, that this was over.

_Finally_.

"I'm so sorry, Reid--I didn't," Luke said in a rush dropping his hand, but Reid put a finger to his lips and pressed a light kiss to Luke's forehead before resting his forehead against his.

"No, no--stop. I should be the one apologising, you're right--I have been too busy and I have been neglecting the both of you. I'm so, so sorry.

Luke looked at him through under his eyelashes, sniffling a little. "I haven't helped the situation either."

"I don't think things have been good for the both of us for a while, it was bound to escalate at some point."

Luke leaned away, shaking his head and letting guilt overwhelm him again as their hands sought comfort and found each other. "But the way I went about it--"

"Was the way it happened," Reid finished for him. "It wasn't without reason, Luke. The both of us behaved the way we thought the other would, and we said and did some things that the both of us regret."

Luke agreed, it wasn't anyone's fault but their own, and looked down at their entwined hands. "I do regret it, I'm sorry for what I said. I'd never--," Luke bit his lip to hold back his tears, "you, you mean the world to me and I know you love us, but the past couple of months have felt like we've just lost touch. We never used to be like that." Glancing up to look at Reid, Luke saw the pain and hurt in Reid's eyes, making his chest tighten horribly.

Reid only nodded, reaching his other hand up to cup Luke's cheek, stroking a thumb over it. "I know, I'm sorry, too. I just, I don't understand why you would think I wouldn't want you, or why I wouldn't want this life. That really did hurt. Yes, I'd maybe never imagined it for myself but doubting whether I love my family? That wasn't fair."

"I guess I was feeling angry and sad about everything lately, but god--I'm so sorry." And then Luke couldn't stop it, the tears were already rolling down his cheeks.

"Luke hey, stop-- I know, I know." Reid wiped away Luke's tears and brought him closer, letting Luke fit his head under his chin and finally, finally--Reid was holding him in those arms he loved so much, murmuring words of comfort.

At long last, Luke found his home.

But the tears didn't stop, Luke held onto Reid like a drowning man and let himself revel in their closeness.

"This case coming along when it did was not ideal," Reid said softly after a few moments, "and I messed up. I didn't have my priorities straight and I made both you and Freddie suffer because of it."

Luke wiped at his eyes urging himself not to cry anymore, not wanting to tear stain Reid's t-shirt any longer. "We didn't suffer, Reid--we just missed you. I was angry that you were willing to sacrifice us for your job, but...you're a doctor, your job is important--I should understand that by now."

"No, I let myself become consumed with the research and the fact that it was procedure that had never been done before, not realising that I was neglecting you because of it," Reid confessed. "It won't ever happen again. I wish I could've made it to that awards ceremony for your book, too--I really fucked up with that, didn't I?"

"Kinda," Luke agreed, before pressing his face into Reid's chest with a sigh. "Just promise me you'll be there when I win the Pulitzer Prize."

Luke heard Reid chuckled softly. "I promise you I'd never miss _that_ miracle."

"You're such an asshole," Luke chided, punching lightly at his chest. "Remind me never to give you a cent of my ten thousand dollar prize money."

"Yeah, yeah--it's all yours," Reid said, before a shaky breath slipped past his lips. "I'm sorry for shutting you out the way I did this week, I'm an asshole--you know it, and I know it. I just needed--"

"Time to get your head on straight and to stop being mad at me?" Luke finished for him this time with a rueful laugh. "I get it."

Luke felt Reid's hand smoothing up and down his back, relaxing him further into his embrace. "And it's not that I didn't want to come with you to Chicago, I just thought you could do with the same. I wanted you to get out of the house and away from me and my dick-ish behaviour for a while."

"I missed you though, I didn't want to go without you."

"But you felt like you needed to get away from all of this, didn't you?"

Luke nodded in agreement, and Reid pressed a long kiss to his hairline, leaving his lips right there as he spoke into his skin. "Exactly, and I knew Hannah would be just what you needed until I sorted myself out. Well, and then Katie came to me today and kicked my ass into gear, literally, and told me exactly what I needed to hear."

Luke snorted out a laugh, imagining the scene, and felt the rumble of Reid's answering laugh against his cheek. "I'm glad you had her kick your ass."

"Me too, " Reid told him, his voice turning serious, "but I'm more grateful than you could ever know that I have you and Freddie in my life. The both of you are everything to me, don't ever doubt that."

What more could Luke say to that? It was there in his words and his actions just how much Reid loved him and Freddie. This insecurity within him was a monster that was destroying the way he thought about everyone and everything he loves. And god, he was so fucking lucky to have what he had and it's not because he was _just_ lucky, it was because he deserved it.

To be honest, they both of them really did deserve each other.

Luke rubbed a hand down Reid's side and huffed out a wet laugh, giving the underside of Reid's jaw a quick kiss. "It's been rough for the both of us lately, huh?"

"Tell me about it."

Luke finally lifted his head and met Reid's gaze, drinking in every inch of the face he hadn't had the chance to properly look at for the past week. Reid looked so tired, and he'd let his light stubble grow out to an almost beard. The dark circles under his eyes didn't go amiss either, but the light was back in Reid's eyes again, the walls gone, and for that, Luke's heart leapt in joy.

He palmed the side of Reid's face, pushing his fingers against the grain of his beard, auburn with flecks of gray, and thumbed his chin affectionately. "You look awful."

Reid laughed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. It was the most adorable habit Reid had picked up ever since he'd gotten them and Luke just about held back from cooing. "I feel like I haven't slept for a whole year."

Luke smiled sadly as he remembered that he'd said the exact same thing to Hannah today. They'd both been hurt by this deeply, but today, they were going to start over and get on the road to fix what had been broken.

"You can say I'm not looking any better too, I'm surprised you haven't already."

Reid shook his head, smiling beatifically, but didn't let his eyes leave Luke's. "You always look beautiful to me."

Luke couldn't help the blush that rose to his cheeks because as much as Reid liked to portray to the world that he wasn't a romantic, Luke and only Luke knew that he was the sappiest of saps. Reid was good to him, sometimes _too_ good for him. But there wasn't anyone in this entire world that could make Luke feel the way Reid did. So loved and cherished and adored.

How could he have ever doubted that? He truly was a fool, and it was about time that Luke told Reid just how much he meant to him.

"I love you, Reid--more than anything. I trust you with my life and please believe me when I say this, I didn't ever mean to say what I did that night. I know you'd never want to leave us or want to find a way out. I don't even think I would have all this if it wasn't for you--," Luke was stopped in his tracks as Reid with his brows furrowed tried to interject, but Luke put a hand to his mouth and shook his head before taking his hand back.

"No, I mean it--you came to me in a time of my life where I felt like giving up, where I felt like I'd done something terribly wrong when that wasn't the case. I was in a self-destructive relationship that was sucking the life out of me." Reid rolled his eyes as he always did at the mention of the ex which didn't fail to make Luke smile, but Luke soldiered on hoping that his emotions didn't get the better of him. "You were only one at the time who was upfront and truthful about the situation. It was you who made me see what I was doing wrong and what I keep doing wrong. You've always set me on the right path and you've done that for me without any expectations."

Luke's voice broke then, but he was quick to get himself under control, "God, and after all that I still managed to hurt you. How could I have done that to you? I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey--come on now, we've done the apologies part already." Reid sighed heavily and carded his fingers through Luke's hair before gripping the nape of his neck, shaking him a little. "You are who you are, and you have what you have because of you and only you, Luke. I may have helped, but in no way was it just me."

"But--"

"But nothing, Luke--it's the truth. And I know I don't say it enough but you changed my life in the best of ways and honestly, life without you would just not be worth it. I love you and I'm so sorry about all of this--but as much as we've talked this out and we know where we stand," Reid paused and let go of Luke's neck and instead, dropped his hand to squeeze his shoulder, hesitating a little, "I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to maybe go and talk to someone other than friends about all this."

Luke's eyes widened in surprise as he understood what Reid was hinting at. Even though Reid wasn't one to air their private life to anyone, let alone a stranger. "Someone like a therapist? Seriously?"

"Yes, a therapist," Reid admitted begrudgingly. "Only for a little while though. I love you and I trust you, but sometimes those thoughts you get in your head don't help the either of us and neither does my behaviour. The both of us are sometimes too stubborn to communicate with each other in the ways we should, and maybe therapy may help us try and find ways to overcome that."

This wasn't what Luke had ever expected to hear, but Reid was right. As he always was. Going to therapy didn't necessarily mean that they had failed...far from it. Getting help was nothing to be ashamed of, and Luke was willing to do anything to keep his marriage strong and healthy. He didn't have any plans to let go of Reid any time soon and if that meant going to speak to someone to help fix things before they _could_ get worse, then he had to do this.

"I--just, yeah--that does make sense. You're right...it's a good idea, definitely."

Reid threw him a smug wink. "I am a genius after all."

This time it was Luke who rolled his eyes. "Of course you are."

Reid took a hold of his hand again, holding it between both of his. "And look, I'm going to be honest with you--I do want another kid...but not yet. If we're not feeling a hundred percent then I don't want to bring a baby into the mix. I want to make sure that when we have another kid, he or she comes into our lives when we can give him or her all of our attention, the same way we did with Freddie. You can understand that, right?"

Luke bit his lip with a nod, throwing Reid a sheepish smile and scrunched his nose. "You're right, it was unreasonable of me to bring that up the other day, I'm sorry. I guess I was feeling sad about the fact that Freddie was growing up so fast and I kinda wanted to relive the days where he'd stay exactly where we put him and didn't have those horrible tantrums and meltdowns."

Reid cocked an eyebrow playfully. "He's not two years old yet. According to the books I've read the tantrums haven't even started."

Luke made a face. "Oh crap."

"And if he's anything like you, he'll pout and sit in a corner until one of us will have to pacify him with something sweet."

"Oh shut up, you asshole."

"What? It's true--the amount of times I've had to go and get you those muffins you love so much."

Pouting a little, Luke couldn't help his lips twist into a smile. "Like I'm the only one who eats them, you love them just as much. Just goes to show how much you annoy me. Who knows whether you annoy me on purpose or not?"

Reid shrugged before agreeing with a nod. "Yeah, that is true--maybe that's why I don't mind it when you do sulk. I get a reward either way."

Luke laughed out loud, louder than he had in weeks and took a hold of Reid's face between his hands. "I love you so much."

Reid smiled smugly but happily, making Luke's heart soar. "I know."

And Luke could no longer take the distance and with another huff of a laugh dragged Reid in for a kiss.

It wasn't rushed or desperate, but instead a kiss that conveyed just how they felt about each other, how much Luke loved him and Reid loved him back. It was deep but slow, and so achingly sweet that it brought tears to Luke's eyes anyway. He'd missed this so much.

"Hey, come on now--no more of the leaking, I missed you, too," Reid told him as he'd broken the kiss and wiped away Luke's tears with his fingers. Luke nodded wordlessly and then pressed quick kisses once more to Reid's lips, his cheek and his nose, avoiding his glasses, and finally a long, lingering kiss to the side of his mouth.

"Hannah suggested we should get away," Luke finally said, telling himself to get a grip, "just the two of us, but maybe we can think about it some more after the therapy?"

"Sounds like a plan I could get behind," Reid answered with a smile, running the back of his fingers over Luke's cheek.

"Okay, yeah--that'd be good."

Reid blew out a breath and let concern mar his face once again, his hands massaging at Luke's shoulders. "How's the headache?"

Luke didn't even notice the pain had almost disappeared but he was so very grateful for it. "Much better than before."

"Have you not been eating? Because I will kick your ass if you haven't been," Reid asked, still frowning. He honestly was the mother hen Luke had never known he'd wanted.

"I ate way too much today, you know what Hannah and James are like. I think it has to do with the fact that I haven't slept with my cuddle buddy in almost a week."

Reid smiled and slapped at Luke's cheek playfully, getting what Luke was hinting at, and gestured towards their home. "How about we eat some dinner first and then we can finally get some sleep."

Luke hesitated, shaking his head. "I'm not sure, I don't feel like it. But I bet you haven't eaten anything, huh?"

It was as if Reid's stomach knew they were talking about it, and it grumbled in protest before Reid could even get in a word. Luke burst out laughing and dragged Reid up onto his feet and kissed him quick.

"Let's get you and your stomach fed, doc."

 

***

 

Watching as Reid ate his dinner somehow awakened Luke's appetite, and with his headache gone, he didn't want to pass up on some of Reid's cooking. Reid truly was a good cook when he put his mind to it. Reluctantly, Reid shared his big bowl of pasta with him, but the look in Reid's eye told Luke that he had planned on Luke eating from his bowl and had heated up extra just in case. They ate a little messily, laughing as they did, but the both of them polished off all of the pasta that was left.

Leaving the dishes for the next day, at Reid's insistence when Luke started yawning, and after double checking the doors and lights, they finally made their way upstairs, holding hands. Once they got to their bedroom however, Reid let Luke's hand go and took a step in the opposite direction.

Luke's heart dropped to his stomach in confusion."Wh--where're you going? What's wrong?"

Reid frowned at him before he realised what Luke was really asking. With a huff of a laugh, Reid dragged Luke closer with a hand to his hip and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "I'm going to get my cell phone charger and a few other things from the guest room."

A sigh of relief left Luke's mouth and he laughed softly. "Oh--sorry."

Reid lips twisted into a wry smile. "I wasn't sure if you'd forgive me so I didn't want to assume anything and move my things back into our room."

This time it was Luke's turn to frown. "You're an ass, just go," he pushed at Reid's chest with a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, "go get your stuff, quickly."

With a playful slap to Luke's cheek, Reid left to go to the guest room as Luke got on with his bedtime routine. Reid found him in their en-suite bathroom just as Luke had finished brushing his teeth and was busy wiping his face with a towel, and knocked his hip into Luke's as he set about brushing his own teeth. He then leaned over and adjusted Luke's toothbrush so it was facing outwards in the holder.

Luke gave him a look in the mirror. "Oh my god."

"What?" Reid asked, mouth frothing with toothpaste, genuinely confused.

Luke was used to this by now. But sometimes some of Reid's quirks never failed to amuse him and it was, to be honest, really adorable. "Nothing, you're just so cute," he told him, trying not to laugh and punctuated the comment with a kiss to his cheek, "come to bed soon."

Leaving Reid with a disgusted look on his face, most likely because he hated being called 'cute', Luke snorted out a laugh anyway and made a getaway, heading straight for bed. Pulling off his sweatpants, leaving him in just his t-shirt and boxer shorts, Luke grabbed his cell phone off of the bedside table and slumped onto the bed with a happy sigh.

Scrolling through his notifications, he found a couple of messages from Hannah, one more frantic than the other, asking whether they'd gotten home okay. Luke couldn't believe he'd forgotten to message her back. He had been intending to do just that, but finding Reid home early had thrown him off kilter.

Luke quickly typed up a message.

_I'm so sorry! Freddie and I got home safe hours ago...and you'll be pleased to know that Reid and I worked things out! We're going to be okay. Thank you for everything! x_

Hannah's reply came swiftly.

_I assume the reason you took so long to reply was because you two were way too busy making up in the way that we talked about earlier today! ;) I'm happy things are good now and send Reid my love, but for the love of god don't forget to message me ever again. I was close to driving over myself. xxx_

Luke winced and wrote her a message back.

_I'm sorryyyyyy!! Reid and I were talking and had dinner together and I'd forgotten my phone upstairs. What we talked about earlier today hasn't happened yet, but I'll be sure to send you some photographic proof. :P x_

Luke laughed at the next reply from Hannah.

_Babe, you know you're more than welcome to. Now get off of your phone and start filming and taking some pics. I'll be waiting...talk soon! Love you <3 xxx_

Luke smiled and sent her a couple of 'xxx's' back in reply, putting his phone back on the table as he heard the sounds of Reid finally finishing in the bathroom. Reid closed the bathroom door behind him and threw a wink Luke's way and switched off the light to their room, the only light now from the dim glow of Reid's lamp.

Lying on his side and holding his head in his hand, Luke finally gave into shamelessly watching Reid strip. First his sweatpants came off, and then his t-shirt that revealed his gorgeously fit and firm body which left him wearing _just_ his fitted black boxer shorts, and that's it. Luke really was a lucky guy. He wondered how in the world Reid managed to maintain the figure he did with the junk he ate, but somehow he did.

The wolf whistle left Luke's lips involuntarily and Reid snapped his head up to meet his gaze, an eyebrow raised.

"Really?"

"What? I can't admire how sexy my husband is? I can objectify you if I want."

Reid rolled his eyes, but the flush on his cheeks told a whole different story. "What if I don't want to be objectified?"

"Tough luck, you're married to me so you can't get outta this that easy."

Reid huffed a laugh and hung his clothes over the chair by the dresser. "I feel violated."

"Please, you love it," Luke said, as he lifted the covers and let Reid get into bed. Before Reid forgot, Luke slipped his glasses off for him, kissing his nose lightly, and placed them on the bedside table next to Reid, almost on top of his now vibrating and flashing phone.

"What's with all the buzzing?" Luke asked as Reid settled into bed, obviously ignoring his phone.

Reid wrapped his arm around Luke as he tucked his head under Reid's chin so that they could cuddle up together, legs tangled, Reid's eyes now closed. "I don't know and I don't care--my time is now yours," he told him, kissing his forehead.

Another buzz and a flash the lit up the room and Luke was way too curious not to let this go. He leaned up on his elbow and palmed at Reid's hip. "That's sweet of you, but just check your phone--it could be important."

"The hospital would page me if that was the case."

"What if it's family or friends? Just look at it."

Reid opened one eye. "If it's family, it's yours and they'd call you. If it's friends--then again, they would call you."

The phone flashed and buzzed again.

" _Reid_."

"No, just leave it," Reid huffed.

But Luke's curiosity got the better of him and before Reid could stop him, he reached over and grabbed the phone, that was once again, buzzing and flashing in his hand. Swiping his thumb through the notifications, he found a couple of missed calls and texts, one more hysterical than the other.

All from Katie.

"It's Katie," he told Reid, who groaned in response and turned his head into the pillow making Luke laugh.

"I'm tired and she can mind her own business. I've had enough of her today."

"Reid," Luke settled back into bed, knocking his head lightly against Reid's in reprimand. "You gotta let her know that everything is fine between us."

Reid flopped on his front and buried his head into the warm space between the pillow and Luke's neck, throwing his arm across Luke. "You can do it," he mumbled with a huff.

Luke unlocked Reid's phone with a swipe, smiling to himself at the background picture he had. It was a picture of Luke curled protectively around a tiny three month old Freddie, the both of them sleeping soundly but eerily in the exact same pose. Both with their hands clenched near their chests, their mouths open a little-it didn't feel that long ago and in some ways it did. God, Luke didn't even want to think about the fact that their baby was about to turn two years old soon.

"She's going to know it's me," Luke warned him.

"Do you think I care?"

With a roll of his eyes, Luke texted Katie back to let her know all was well. An answer came straight away  and Luke couldn't help but laugh when he read it.

Luke scratched lightly at Reid's hair with his free hand to get his attention. "Katie's told me to tell you that you had better call her tomorrow because she knows you're avoiding her. There were a few more obscenities thrown in there but I'm keeping it clean for you."

"That's not exactly a lie."

"And she wants us to come around for dinner tomorrow and--"

"No."

"Reid, we can't say--"

Reid finally lifted his head from his hiding place and raised an eyebrow, his fingers carding through Luke's hair. "I think we deserve to have some time alone, just you, me, and Freddie. Katie can wait a day or two, I'm sure she'll understand."

Luke's eyes flitted unsurely between Reid's warm ones and the phone in his hand. "Yeah, I guess."

"We don't have to please everyone all of the time. Have I taught you nothing?"

Luke snorted and began typing a message back. "You don't ever have to, but I have a reputation to uphold."

"What reputation?"

Luke, a little offended, was quick to kick Reid's shin, making him both laugh and howl a little in pain. "It's better than your reputation as an asshole. Someone has to be the nice one in this marriage."

"Well, " Reid conceded with a sigh, leaning down to kiss Luke's cheek as he settled his head next to Luke's on the pillow, "that is true."

"I know," Luke chirped back, jerking when Reid pulled on his earlobe. "Hey, asshole--stop it."

With Luke, _and Reid's_ , apologies sent, Katie sent back one last text message that had Luke a little confused.

"Happy horizontal monster mashing? What the--?"

Reid huffed a laugh and squinted at the message Katie had sent. "She's scared Jacob will pick up certain words before he even knows what they mean. So horizontal monster mashing obviously means..."

Realisation hit Luke seconds later, god he was so tired, but he was still amused and laughed, waggling his eyebrows. "Hannah was pretty sure we'd be horizontal monster mashing by now, too."

"Hmm, is that so." Reid's eyes brightened in mischief as he slipped the phone out of Luke's hand, placing it blindly on the bedside table behind him. Before Luke could say a word, Reid covered him with his body, slotting their legs together and nuzzled his cheek and neck with soft, warm kisses.

A quiet, but appreciative moan left Luke's lips, and he was powerless not to indulge his husband further. His hand slipped into Reid's hair of his own volition, his head tilting back to give Reid more room to work.

"I thought you were tired, Reid," Luke said, huffing a laugh and then suppressing a groan when Reid rolled his hips into his own. It wasn't so difficult to get aroused when you had someone like Reid on top of you.

Reid lifted his head and brushed their noses together in an eskimo kiss. "Not too tired for this."

"And what is 'this' exactly?"

"The horizontal monster mash," Reid said seriously, trying but failing to hide a grin before leaning in for a long and languid kiss, kicking the covers to the end of the bed.

"Uh huh, the horizontal monster mash?" Luke snorted out, laughing against Reid's lips and hooking his ankle around Reid's calf, eyes sparkling with delight. "What does that entail exactly?"

"Hmm," Reid hummed, smiling down at him, "how about I show you instead?"

Luke took his bottom lip hostage with his teeth, slipping his hands down Reid's back and into his underwear, squeezing lightly at his ass. "Yeah, I'm down for that."

Reid nipped lightly at Luke's chin before meeting his gaze again, looking a little guilty. "Honestly, I am kind of tired...but I just need you right now. Can we just--?"

"That's okay," Luke told him with smile as wrapped his palms around the nape of Reid's neck, knowing exactly what Reid meant. He was just as tired, but there was a _need_ thrumming under his skin and more than anything, he just needed to get off now that he had his husband back in bed with him, where he belonged. It had been too long.

"We'll leave part two of the monster mashing tomorrow, once Freddie is down for his nap--or maybe we can drop him off with Katie, or my mom."

Reid looked pleased, kissing him quick before sitting back on Luke's legs. He dragged Luke's t-shirt up and off of him, throwing it to the side and ran his fingers lightly through his chest hair. "Am I glad I married you."

"I knew it," Luke huffed, groaning a little when Reid dropped back on top of him, their hardening cocks brushing together as their fingers entwined above Luke's head, "you just married me for my body."

"Oh crap, you found out my secret," Reid ground down harder, eliciting a gasp out of Luke, "I only want you for the sex. But I will say, you're definitely in my top ten of all time great lovers."

Luke couldn't help but giggle, a shiver wracking his body when he could feel just how hot and hard Reid was, even with the barrier their underwear between them. "I'm not even the top five, what the hell? Don't I get first place?"

Reid shrugged, earning him a kick to his calf from Luke before he dropped one hand between them, slipping his hand into Luke's underwear and rubbing a thumb over the head of his cock, hard and starving for touch.

" _Shit_ ," Luke shuddered.

Reid quickly let Luke go, as Luke whined, grabbing a bottle of lube from the drawer and squirting some onto his fingers, throwing the bottle back on the pillow. Reid lay himself over Luke again and kissed him, wrapping his hand around Luke using long but slow strokes to jerk him off. "You'll always be number one...maybe," he said teasingly.  

Luke grinned into the kiss, suppressing a moan and arched his back a little at the delicious feel of Reid on him and around him. "You're such an asshole, come on--let's get naked now," he demanded breathlessly.

"Your wish is my command," Reid deadpanned, a small smirk gracing his lips anyway.

Their underwear was gotten rid of in quick time, their bodies fitting together perfectly and effortlessly. They both let out a sigh as Reid managed to get his hand wrapped around him again, the other hand gripping Luke's hair, elbow digging into the mattress by Luke's head to hold himself up as they kissed, wet but deep.

"Love you," Luke said between kisses, feet rubbing at Reid's calves, his fingers digging into Reid's shoulders, sure to leave indentations that'd mark him for a couple of days at least.

"Love you, too," Reid replied, and with a soft grunt left Luke's lips to attach himself to the soft skin of his neck instead, his stubble rasping against Luke's skin. Luke wanted to get his hand on Reid, but there wasn't much space and Luke felt too out of sorts to do much. So instead, he rocked his hips as Reid jacked him off, giving Reid some friction to grind against.

Their earlier urgency had sizzled to a slow burn, and now, all Luke wanted to do was let this feeling last forever, but with sex not having been on the table for a while and Reid sucking and biting a hickey onto his neck, which never failed to push him over the edge, he knew that it wouldn't be long till he'd be satisfied.  

"Want me to blow you?" Reid asked whilst peppering kisses to Luke's chest, finding Luke's lips again when Luke dragged him back with a whine. God, Luke was drunk on his touch--on his _everything_. But not so drunk that he didn't know just how close he was and that if Reid did somehow manage to get his mouth on him, it would all be over pretty much straight away.

"Nuh uh, too close," Luke panted, sliding his fingers into Reid's hair and tightening his hold on his hair, making Reid grunt and groan in appreciation.

It only took a couple more strokes of Reid's hand, and Luke fell apart with his husband's name on his lips--back arching, hands scrabbling for purchase at Reid's hair and sweat soaked back. A loud but low moan slipped past his lips that was quickly covered by Reid's mouth, tongue licking inside and tasting as much of Luke as he could. He'd spilled over Reid's fingers and his own stomach, Reid's murmurings of sweet nothings making him shake not just from having come so hard, but just because he had Reid so close.

Getting a little sensitive with Reid still stroking him through the last of his orgasm, Luke was about to protest, but Reid knew exactly what he needed and when, and let Luke go, Reid's hand going to fist his own cock.

But no, Luke couldn't have that. Who cared if he was still a little out of it and could still see stars? "No, no--stop," Luke batted at Reid's hand, and glanced up at his confused, lust flushed face.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked, suddenly looking worried, hand cupping his cheek with concern before moving to smooth his hair back.

"Nothing--just," Luke pushed at Reid's chest petulantly with a whine, getting him to lie down next to him, "let me do it."

Reid huffed a laugh and acquiesced, lying on his back as Luke lay half of himself over him. Using his own come to slick his hand, the lube too far away, Luke's hand found Reid's gorgeously hard cock and gave it a playful squeeze. His thumb rubbed over the head and the wetness on it, making Luke lick his lips instinctively.

" _Luke_ ," came the strangled groan from Reid. Luke met his gaze with a laugh, wild and so hot, he felt like he couldn't breathe. He always loved watching Reid fall apart, and this time was no exception.

"I'm sorry, sorry," Luke consoled him with kisses to his cheek, his mouth sliding over to Reid's lips to kiss him as his hand did the important job. Reid's fingers gripped Luke's hair tightly as they kissed, his hips lifting off of the bed as Luke pumped his fist in agonisingly fast strokes. Reid's breathy moans, his hand gripping the bedspread so tight his knuckles were white, and his flushed chest signalled just how close he was and god did Luke love seeing him this way.

"Fuck, _Luke_ \--"

It didn't take long for Reid either, having been just as deprived as Luke. He came hard, and with a low groan over his stomach, Luke slowing his pace to eke out the last of Reid's orgasm. Leaving Reid's mouth reluctantly, he brushed his lips against Reid's hairline laying sweet kisses on his warm skin.

"Shit, Luke--stop."

Luke hadn't even realised he still had a hand on Reid till he put a hand over his, stilling him.

"Sorry--sensitive, huh?" Luke said, kissing at Reid's temple and letting him go.

"Hmm, a little," Reid said, voice hoarse, turning his head to look at Luke and smiled, "but I missed this."

Luke grinned back, pushing Reid's sweaty curls off of his forehead with one hand, the other rubbing lightly at his stomach, kissing him softly. "Me too."

There was nothing said there that was untrue, because he'd truly missed Reid in every way over the past week. Never again did he want to go through this kind of separation. He knew their love ran deep enough.

Reid sighed into the kiss, turning onto his side to wrap an arm around Luke's waist, dragging him close and deepening the kiss with a tilt of his head. Luke's brain was all for another round, but he knew that he'd pushed his body to his limit for today. And it was definitely clear that Reid felt the same way when he had to pull back to yawn.

Luke smoothed his hand over Reid's side and dropped a kiss to his nose. "Sleepy?"

Reid tried to answer but yawned again, making Luke laugh. "Lemme go and get something to clean us up," he suggested, slipping out of Reid's embrace.

"Wait," Reid urged Luke back down into bed and sat himself up with a shake of his head, "I'll go--you just stay there."

"Yes sir," Luke said with a goofy salute, flopping down onto the pillows and star fishing himself across the bed, letting the sweat cool on his skin.

Reid gave him a fond look, slapping at Luke's thigh as he got up to go to the bathroom, watching as Reid walked away. Or more accurately, watching Reid's _ass_ walk away.

Luke was truly, _truly_ lucky to have such an ass at his disposal.

Sated and satisfied, Luke closed his eyes, tiredness hitting him like a freight train, yawning big himself. He didn't realise Reid had come back to bed till he felt the warmth of the wet towel on his skin as Reid cleaned him up.

Luke sighed softly, meeting Reid's gaze as he took a hold of Luke's hand, using the cloth to clean his fingers. Reid had already cleaned himself up in the bathroom, underwear back on already which sucked. But even if he wanted to, another round of hot sex with Reid just wasn't on the cards at this time of night. Dunking the cloth into the laundry basket with the perfect throw, Reid leaned over the side of the bed to hand Luke his boxers which Luke limply held onto, not quite unable to move anymore to do what he needed to.

"You want help with that? Reid asked, amusedly.

Luke nodded, words a little harder to form as Reid laughed.

"Who's the sleepy one now?" he teased as he helped Luke back into his boxer shorts.

"Shut up," Luke said without any heat, dragging Reid right back into bed with him once he was done.

Reid switched off the bedside lamp and lay down facing Luke, the both of them entangled in one another once Luke had managed to drag the covers over them.

There wasn't a word said, but they just stared at each other for a long moment, eyes having adjusted to the darkness in their room. Honestly, Luke felt like he could face anything and everything now that he had Reid back. And even though they were quiet, Luke could see something in Reid's eyes that made his heart ache a little. It hoped it wasn't guilt or anger at himself, or anything that was upsetting him about everything that had happened. As much as Reid tried to deny it, he wasn't so great at letting go of things, especially when it concerned someone he cared about.

Luke let his lips curl into a small smile, waiting for Reid's small but soft answering smile that came seconds later. He closed the distance to press a chaste but sweet kiss to Reid's lips and one more to his forehead. With his fingers entwined with Reid's between them, he lifted Reid's hand to drop a kiss to his knuckles. He then reached out to brush a thumb over the small frown between Reid's brows and down his Grecian nose, the action making Reid twitch his nose adorably.

Luke chuckled softly but repeated the gesture. "Thought you were tired," he whispered.

Reid hummed in response, watching as each stroke downwards had Reid's eyes flutter sleepily.

"Close your eyes and sleep," Luke said soothingly. "We're okay now."

"Yeah?" Reid breathed, the land of slumber calling with each touch of Luke's thumb, half asleep already.

Luke blew out a slow breath. Heart and mind now content he closed his own eyes, because if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that he was never ever going to leave Reid's side. Not ever.

"Yeah, we're okay."

***

Luke woke to an empty bed, but ridiculously well rested. He hadn't slept so well in days, and it was obvious that Reid was the cure.

His heart fell to his stomach though, panic rising in his throat before he remembered that he'd not gone to bed alone like he had for the past week, that last night hadn't been a dream. He breathed in deeply, pushing his nerves and concern away, and instead grinned thinking about the night before.

God, it had been so good to have Reid so close again. Luke had finally felt like they had their connection back. Like they weren't miles apart in their minds and hearts. Like he could finally hear through all the noise he'd been drowning in.

Luke reached out across the empty space of the bed, the morning sunlight dappling through the blinds and rippling over the messy covers and pillows, sighing happily. He touched his neck where he was sure there was a bruise forming from last night, the twinge of pain sending a thrill down his spine, making him smile dopily to himself.

Flicking his eyes at the wall opposite to check the time, it wasn't even nine o'clock, Luke stretched his arms and legs, wincing at the popping sounds his bones made. He really did feel old these days and he wasn't even thirty. Reid would only scowl at him if he knew what Luke was thinking because he was highly sensitive about his age these days, which was hilarious to Luke.

Rubbing at his eyes, Luke sat up and got on all fours, the covers falling off of him, to peer into their en-suite...but it was empty. There was no wet towel on the floor either. Huh, where could he be?

He listened carefully and kept quiet, trying to hear for anyone in the house. But he couldn't hear a thing. He guessed it didn't help that the door to their room was closed, but even then--Luke would've at least heard Freddie wake up or something, right? Even Peggy would've come in by now to wake him up.

Luke scratched at his chest and yawned. Shivering a little without his t-shirt on, he grabbed it off of the floor and threw it on. As he swung his legs out the bed, about to put his slippers on, he heard the door to their room open.

"Daddyyyyyyy!"

Turning his head to the sound, he saw Freddie in his cute little baby bear onesie pyjamas, curly hair a sleepy mess, and his ugly rabbit plushie clutched in one hand. Luke's heart fluttered with happiness, a big smile breaking his face in half when he saw that Reid was stood behind him, lips curled into a lazy smile, a breakfast tray in his hands full of god knows what. He then ushered Freddie into the room who ran towards Luke with a giggle.

"Hey, honey," Luke held his arms out and Freddie barrelled straight into his chest, his little arms and his ugly rabbit plushie squished between them. Pressing a couple of kisses to Freddie's hair, he swung him back onto the bed with him, leaning against the headboard as he dropped a kiss to his cheek so he could see his cute little face. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Goo moomin!" Freddie babbled back, the words not so clear, but coherent enough.

"Good boy," Luke praised him, cuddling him close in his lap.

Luke felt the bed dip next to him, a tray of breakfast  goodies and some heaven sent coffee slid into view and he found Reid sat right next to him with a smug smile.

"Good morning you," Luke said.

Reid crossed his legs to sit down and leaned over to kiss Luke's cheek, flattening the bird's nest that was his morning bed head for him. "Good morning."

"What's all this?" Luke asked as he rocked Freddie in his arms, his eyes devouring all that was on the breakfast tray. There was what looked like French toast, bacon and eggs as well as some fresh fruit.

"Thought we'd treat you to breakfast in bed," Reid told him, gesturing to Freddie. "It was all his idea."

Luke laughed, rubbing his nose against Freddie's who giggled. "It was all your idea, huh? Did you make me breakfast?"

"I helped a little, but it was mostly Freddie's handiwork," Reid answered for him.

"Is that so?" Luke blew a raspberry to Freddie's neck making him squirm and giggle some more. "Well, thank you, Freddie. You gonna give Daddy his morning kiss?"

Freddie had learnt to not just accept kisses, but give them too, and he did it in the most adorable way. Pouting his lips with a nod, he leaned in, dropping a kiss right on Luke's lips.

"Aww, thank you, baby!"

"Hey, what about me?" Reid looked miffed, a smirk on his lips anyway. "Can't I give you a kiss?"

Luke snorted a laugh and knocked his shoulder against Reid's. "If you're up for a kiss with morning breath, you're more than welcome to have one."

Reid rolled his eyes, his finger and thumb holding his chin, making Luke meet his gaze. "Do you think I care? Freddie doesn't."

Before Luke could protest, Reid placed a chaste kiss right on Luke's lips, and one more sloppy one that made Luke wince and wipe at his mouth. "Reid!"

Reid laughed at him, thumbing at his chin lovingly before grabbing the small paper bag and bringing it closer. The scent immediately hit him and in that instant, Luke knew exactly what was in the bag.

Luke glanced at Reid, eyes wide, a small gasp leaving his lips. "When did you--?"

"This little man," Reid poked at Freddie's cheek who squealed happily and carried on singing to himself, content in his Daddy's lap, "woke up at six and had me awake, too. You were sleeping, and I knew that I had to keep him occupied so we took a trip to your favourite bakery and grabbed some sweet treats. Didn't we, monster?"

"Yah, yummyyyy!" Freddie agreed, his attention now on the brown paper bag, hands trying to grab at it, his ugly rabbit plushie now forgotten.

"Reid," Luke blew out a breath and inhaled the scent of the freshly baked  blueberry and cinnamon muffins, overcome with joy. Not just because he'd been craving these muffins for a while, but because Reid had taken a trip out to the next town over just because he wanted to make Luke happy. "You didn't have to go just for me."

Reid rolled his eyes, pulling a muffin out of the bag and broke off a piece, handing it to an eager and hungry Freddie before breaking off another piece and holding it to Luke's mouth. "Of course I didn't have to, but I did--now eat some before they get too cold."

Luke blinked away the moisture in his eyes and accepted the piece, opening his mouth and chewing on it slowly, nipping lightly at Reid's fingers because it was hard not to. Reid jerked in surprise and huffed a laugh, handing him the whole muffin.

"And hey, I didn't go just for you," Reid demonstrated with a wide grin, as he pulled out that damn cronut that Luke knew was filled with crème patissiere and covered in fondant icing, because he'd had to stop Reid buying it every time they'd gone to the bakery.

"Wowwwwweee!" Freddie said in awe, making Luke's scowl falter. He shook his head in disbelief, snorting a laugh. "Heart attack city, welcome to Reid's stomach."

Reid looked put out. "Whoa, don't blame me. It was all Freddie's idea--he's the one that encouraged me to get this."

"Uh huh, sure." Luke was amused as he broke up another piece of the muffin and handed it to Freddie who'd been patting at his cheek and calling out for him the whole time to get his attention, before eating some more himself.

Reid nodded, putting the cronut back down and grabbing a piece of bacon to eat instead, obviously wanting to wait till after breakfast to demolish it. "Yes--he said, 'Papa, that cronut looks like a work of art--you need to buy one because you and Daddy both deserve a treat after the horrible week you've had--especially, Daddy.'"

Luke bit his lip and scrubbed a hand over his face, seeing Reid's eyes soft and warm and loving...waiting for permission to dive into that monstrosity. "Fine," he acquiesced, unable to deny Reid. He ate some more of his muffin but put it down on the tray for now, wanting to save it for later. "You can have it just this once. But no more sweet things till next weekend."

"You're not the boss of me," Reid told him with smirk before turning serious. "I'll have it later and I promise to share."

"Why, thank you sweetheart," Luke teased, suddenly realising that their family wasn't quite complete. "Where's Peggy?"

Reid took a big gulp of his coffee before answering. "She was awake by the time we left, so she came with us and was having her breakfast when we left her to come up here. She should be done by now."

But before Luke could call out for her, Freddie had gotten onto his feet and bent his body forward, shouting out as loud as he could, "Peeeeeyyyyyyyy!"

Both Luke and Reid burst out laughing, Freddie shouting for Peggy once more, even if he didn't quite get her name right. He'd pick up saying his 'g's' soon enough. But it worked, they heard a bark and then the sound of paws running up the stairs and then she bounded into their bedroom with her tail wagging. Freddie bounced excitedly, clearly proud of himself for calling her.

Reid ruffled Freddie's curls. "He's hilarious."

Luke agreed wiping at the tears in his eyes, letting Freddie pat at Peggy's head once she was close enough. But before he fell over the side of the bed, he handed him over to Reid who quickly put his coffee down to hold him.

"Hey, my girl--how're you doing?" Luke asked, stroked a hand over her head and body and dropped a kiss to her head when she lay her head on his knee. She then climbed up onto the bed, laying down over Luke's legs, looking calmer than she had over the past couple of days. Luke was certain that the tension between him and Reid hadn't gone amiss by her. She was a sensitive creature and he hoped they were doing right by her.

"Hey, she's fine," Reid said calmly, knowing exactly what Luke was thinking, and gestured at the tray and the coffee going cold with a soft smile. "Grab some food and your coffee and eat something. I'll keep this monster occupied till then 'cause we got a big day ahead of us. Isn't that right, Freddie?" Reid dropped a kiss to Freddie's cheek and patted his little butt as he was stood in Reid's lap, arms around his neck. Freddie nodded, smiling brightly at Reid and then Luke; his cute toothy grin clear to see.

"A big day?" Luke asked curiously, picking up his mug of coffee. "What about work?"

Reid face shuttered a little which made Luke's heart ache. He hadn't meant that to be a taunt, not at all. "I made sure everything was squared away over this past week. Work won't get in the way anymore."

Wanting to reassure Reid that his job wouldn't be a sore point between them anymore, Luke threw him a bright grin, reaching out to cuff lightly at his head. "What've you got planned for us Dr. Oliver? I'm intrigued."

Reid tapped his nose and winked Luke's way, a small but genuine smile emerging on his lips. "It's a surprise."

"As long as it includes you, me and this bed at some point, I cannot wait."

Reid gave him a look that spoke volumes instead of saying anything else, and Luke shivered in delight, heart thrumming in excitement.

"I love you," he told him simply.

"Me too," Reid replied just as simply, his smile brightening the whole room. His attention then turned quickly to their son, who was babbling about something as Reid tried to decipher his needs.

Luke smiled at them both, wondering if there was anything more that he would need in this world that'd make him the happiest man alive. But no, everything that he would ever need was right here. Despite the pain and turmoil of this past week he knew, deep down, that they would get through any hurdles that would come their way. They were as stubborn as each other after all.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, absorbing the sounds of father and son talking to each other, feeling Peggy breathing against his legs and feeling the sunlight pouring into their bedroom, kissing his skin and filling their room and life with light.

Who would ever let this go? This was what was worth fighting for...it was what was worth living for. Because everything that he needed, _ever_ , was right here.

Luke opened his eyes.

Yeah...they'll be okay.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr [here](http://babblingbhumzi.tumblr.com//), if you're so inclined! And if you have any ideas about what you'd like to read next about Luke, Reid, Freddie, and Peggy's life, please do leave your suggestions in the comments! I'd love to know what part of their life you'd like me to explore! ♥


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